Conventional parking brakes have a ratchet and pawl arrangement for securing a parking brake in a locked position. The parking brake handle can be lifted towards the locked position, however it cannot be lowered without disengaging the ratchet and the pawl. A primary disadvantage of conventional brakes is that when the parking brake handle is lifted, the pawl is dragged across the teeth of the ratchet. This action creates a loud noise, which is in some cases undesirable.
In order to remove this noise, quiet apply parking brakes have been introduced. The quiet apply systems that are currently available tend to be complex and thus expensive to make and assemble. Therefore, it is desirable to have a quiet apply parking brake that is simple and effective.